


as in 'like'

by hatae



Category: HOTSHOT (Band), Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Confusion, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mild Angst, after that it's fine, but they're not that important, for like 2 minutes, the hotshot members also appear sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-13 19:43:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11767023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hatae/pseuds/hatae
Summary: Sungwoon's smile faltered a bit when his eyes fell on Jonghyun, who was still holding onto a sobbing Hyunbin."Yah, Sungwoon-ah", Taehyun said loudly. His best friends looked at him with slightly big eyes. "Congrats, you've worked. You deserve this. More than anyone knows."Sungwoon's face fell and Taehyun quickly reached out for him. They met each other halfway, as they always did.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Update: I watched produce 101 season 2. It was way more emotional than I initially expected and I died a little inside each time one of my faves got eliminated, so that was nice :))
> 
> \- 
> 
> This fic is unbeta'd, so there may be some mistakes here and there

The moment Sungwoon's name got called Taehyun burst into tear. He even surprises himself by the force of his sobs. He didn't even see Sungwoon walk up the stage. He vaguely felt people's comforting hands on him. When he looked up he immediately noticed his own mess of a face on the screen. Moonbok wiped away some of his tears. He'd always been kind.

 

He couldn’t bring himself to feel thankful quite yet. Instead his chest filled with so many emotions he can hardly name them all. There was happiness, pride and adoration there. But there was also a small ugly piece of jealousy, which he quickly repressed. He felt light in the head as he watched Sungwoon do the speech he'd been practicing, just in case.

 

He looked on as Sungwoon hugged the other wanna one members and attempted to wipe the tears away. Sungwoon deserved this. He was kind and talented and amazing and juts everything an idol was supposed to be. Taehyun was his best friends. He would know.

 

When it was time to go on the stage, Sungwoon wasn’t even the first one he hugged. Instead he got his face munched in Jisung’s shoulder.

 

"Taehyun-ah", he sobbed and Taehyun laughed thickly, patting his back. His eyes met Sungwoon's over his shoulder. Sungwoon, who was currently in Sewoon’s headlock.

 

As if on cue they both broke free and walked towards each other. Taehyun almost collided with Hyunbin, who was sobbing as he threw his arms over Jonghyun's shoulders. Kid was probably more disappointed than the guy himself. As soon as that thought entered his head he shook it off. He knew that wasn’t true.

 

When they finally stood in front of each other Taehyun’s heart was beating faster than ever. Sungwoon was smiling proudly, and Taehyun had never seen him look like that before. Not even when they’d first debuted together. Hotshot just hadn't been good enough for someone with dreams like Sungwoon. Taehyun didn’t judge him for it.

 

"Wow, my best friend is a superstar now. Should I bow?", Taehyun joked, because that was the only way he didn't immediately burst into tears again. Sungwoon grinned.

 

"Yes, Yes, that would be best. For I, Ha Sungwoon, am a member of wanna one, therefore I am better than anyone in this entire world", Sungwoon went along, with an arrogant tone that he'd never ever use for real. Taehyun laughed loudly.

 

Sungwoon's smile faltered a bit when his eyes fell on Jonghyun, who was still holding onto a sobbing Hyunbin.

 

"Yah, Sungwoon-ah", Taehyun said loudly. His best friends looked at him with slightly big eyes. "Congrats, you've worked hard. You deserve this. More than anyone knows."

 

Sungwoon's face fell and Taehyun quickly reached out for him. They met each other halfway, as they always did.

"Thank you, Taehyunie. I'm sorry", Sungwoon muttered into his shoulder. Tears gathered in his eyes again and Taehyun quickly willed them away. He shouldn't cry anymore, it was a happy day.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day Taehyun helped move Sungwoon move whatever was still left in the Hotshot-dorm. The other members all hugged Sungwoon and yelled at him to go be a star. If they even noticed the tears in his eyes they didn't mention it.

 

Sungwoon hugged him a little longer than was strictly necessary when he was about to finally leave.

"I'll miss you, Taehyun", he mumbled and Taehyun laughed.

 

"You say that as though we're never going to see each other again. They parted and when Sungwoon smiled at him Taehyun's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

 

"You better keep me updated", he commanded when Sungwoon was about to close the car door. Sungwoon made a confirming sound, mumbling along the lines of ' _always so bossy_ ' and properly shut the door. Taehyung smiled and waved as the car drove away. Somehow it felt worse than he would've thought, as though it really was the last time they'd see each other. But that was ridiculous, he told himself firmly. It wasn't as if Sungwoon would be a part of wanna one forever and they'd still see each other in their spare time.  
That kept his smile from faltering when the car rounded the corner. Hojeong abruptly burst into tears. Taehyun snorted when San immediately started laughing at him. Junhyuk put an arm around his shoulder, but even he looked as though he might start laughing at any moment.

 

"Why are you crying?"

 

"He’s just…grown up so much"

"That's rich coming from you, last time I checked he was still older than you."

 

"Still, the fact that I'm taller than him-", he whined and Taehyun momentarily forgot all about Sungwoon being gone as he pulled him into a headlock, because as a person who was 0,3 cm smaller than Sungwoon he took offence to that statement.

 

 

 

 

The next couple of weeks were busy as hell, Hotshot was going to be having a comeback and Taehyun needed to prepare. Sungwoon probably had to practice a lot as well and, as was required of new trainees, had had his cellphone taken from him.

 

Taehyun missed him. He was busy, but not that busy. His heart ached whenever he saw Sungwoon's empty bed. And whenever he made one of his jokes and not one member laughed he longingly wished Sungwoon was with them because he would've, as he understood his weird ass humor. They'd created it together

 

Overall it weren't the best weeks of his life. The only light point was when his company contacted him. The fans saw potential in him and wanted him to be in their group. JBJ, along with some other members. Kenta being of them. Taehyun was a big fan of Kenta, so he squealed with him on the phone the entire night. Their first meeting would be in a couple of days. Taehyun couldn't wait to see the other members again. Hotshot's mv had just gotten filmed, so he didn't need to worry about that anymore.

 

Hojeong whined when he told the other members the great news.

 

"How are you two getting so much luck. It's unfair."

 

That made Taehyun's smile falter. Th eyounger man noticed and quickly reassured him. He'd just been kidding. He was very proud of Taehyun.  
He wondered if that was true.

 

* * *

 

The night Hotshot's new mv came out was the night Sungwoon got his phones back.

 

 

_Itadakimasu: man, sungwoon is such a good friend_

  
_Tae the fruit: tru but why?_

  
_Itadakimasu: you mean you haven't read it yet?_

  
_Tae the fruit: takada, what are you talking abt?_

  
_Itadakimasu: you haven't talked to him yet??_

 

 

As if on cue he got a text from Sungwoon. He almost did a double take.

 

_Show time lover: it is it, i have arisen from the ash_

 

He almost broke his finger in his haste to call Sungwoon. He put the phone to his ear and anxiously waited for him to pick up, which he quickly did.

"Wow, Taehyun-ah. I think you could’ve just gone for a world record there, with your supersonic speed", Sungwoon's dry voice informed him and Taehyun nearly burst into tears, just from cheer happiness.

 

"Hello to you, too", he said, sounding painfully happy even to his own ears. Sungwoon laughed and Taehyun had never wanted to see anyone's face more than he did Sungwoon's in that moment. They could probably video chat, but Taehyun was 500 percent certain he would cry the moment he saw Sungwoon, so he should probably wait with that, before Kenta's (and half of South Korea’s) nickname for him could become reality once more.

 

"Man, am I glad to hear your voice. All I've been hearing these past few weeks are Jisung's screeches-", Sungwoon said and Taehyun vaguely heard someone yell an offended 'hey!'.

"How have you all been?", Taehyun chuckled.

 

"Pretty good. Practice has been tough, but for the rest it's been great. Everyone is really nice", Sungwoon said and someone cood on the other side of the line and Taehyun was smiling so hard his cheeks ached.

 

"Everyone except for Jisung", Sungwoon quickly said and Taehyun heard some muted yelling, shuffling and giggling .

 

"Everything okay?", he asked. Sungwoon was breathing heavily on the other side of the receiver.

 

"Yeah, Jisung just left, is all", Sungwoon giggled.

 

"So? Tell me how much you've missed me, my sweet flower boy", Taehyung exclaimed with a slight grin, glad to finally be able to be using their inside jokes again. The silence on the other side was unexpected. He's expected Sungwoon to quickly join in.

 

"Sungwoonie? Hello, you still there?", he asked, as he quickly checked if the call hadn't accidentally disconnected, it hadn’t, though. "Earth to Sungwoon?"

 

"Yeah, I'm still here. Sorry", Sungwoon said and he sounded fine. Thank fuck, Taehyung didn't know what he’d do if his best friend were to show any signs of sadness. He'd probably promptly drive over to wanna one's dorm his damn self. Should probably stay in safer terrritory.

 

"Kenta just told me I should've read something?", he said and Sungwoon laughed disbelievingly.

"You mean you haven't read it yet?"

 

"Read what yet, what does everyone know that I don't?", he exclaimed.

 

"Fine, I guess I'll just read it to you, because I'm a good friend." Sungwoon dramatically cleared his throat and started reciting the message he'd apparently posted. As he did so Taehyun's heart began beating unnaturally fast.

 

"..It feels empty without the other members by my side because we've always stuck together and I miss them. I'm confident they'll keep Hotshot thriving while I'm gone." Sungwoon ended and Taehyun was positively certain he was having a heart attack.

  
"Thank you, thank you."  
Taehyun could just see the small bows he was making as he received an imaginary applause. His heart overflowed with affection for his best friend.

 

"What did you think?"

 

What did he think? Taehyung thought a lot of things. He’d missed Sungwoon too. He didn't think he could ever go that long without him ever again. His life wasn't complete without Sungwoon.

 

"Kenta say you're a very good friend", he said dumbly

 

"Boy, am I glad to hear what my best friend Kenta has to say about it", Sungwoon said sarcastically and Taehyun would've laughed, but his heart still hadn't calmed down. "No, but seriously. What do you think?"

 

Taehyun panicked and abruptly ended the call.

As one obviously did when faced with a difficult situation. He quickly left the room and his cellphone, to join the members in the living room. He collapsed onto the ground and stared at the ceiling for a while, cursing himself, because who the hell hung up on their best friend after literally two months of no contact whatsoever, who did that? Just because he they were feeling a little confused. The members didn’t even spare him a glance. Not even when he let out a long groan. He stood up again and sped to his room. Two minutes had passed.

 

 

_Show time lover: taehyun wtf_

  
_Show time lover: hello?_

  
_Show time lover: earth to taehyun?_

  
_Show time lover : did you just tragicaly pass away or smthng?_

  
_Show time lover: you didn't, right?_

  
_Show time lover: taehyun, pls answer._

  
_Show time lover: i'm literally freaking out_

 

 

Leave it to Sungwoon to think of the worst case scenario in a timespan of just 2 minutes. His heart had finally decided it would be normal again and he could breath again. He let out a sharp laugh and answered.

 

 

_Tae <3 : im still very alive_

  
_Show time lover: thank god_

 

_Show time lover: wth was that just now?_

  
_Show time lover: did u just hang up on me?_

  
_Tae <3: ...no_

  
_Show time lover: why am i friends with you again?_

  
_Tae <3: probably bc i'm the only person who's 0.3 cm smaller than you_

  
_Show time lover: ...tru_

 

 

And just like that they were in safe territory again.


	2. Chapter 2

Obviously Sungwoon and Taehyun couldn’t meet up yet, not until Wanna One had officially made its debut. They made up for it with texting, though. And video calling, once Taehyun was absolutely certain he wasn’t gonna wail the moment he saw Sungwoon’s face. He still had to swallow a lump in his throat the first time they did, though, especially when Sungwoon also showed the other wanna one members, who immediately waved and joined.

 

In the end it was nice to be able to talk to Sungwoon again, like he’d been able to the past couple of years.

 

It was nice until Taehyun got asked onto a couple of variety shows and went. He honestly just tried not to make too big of a fool of himself and he honestly thought he’d pulled it off quite well, fans seemed to eat it up. At first Sungwoon did too.

 

 

_Show time lover: I saw the broadcast_

  
_Show time lover: did you know that woojin is almost just as tall as you lmao_

 

 

Taehyun snorted.

 

 

_Tae <3: you realize that you just played yourself, right?_

_Tae <3: we’re the same height, so that means you just called woojin as tall as you_

  
_Show time lover: excuse you, I’m taller than you_

_Tae <3: like 0,3 centimeters_

  
_Showtime lover: aka 30 000 000 nanometers_

  
_Tae <3: …this is starting to get sad_

  
_Show time lover: are you talking about yourself rn? After getting hit by my point?_

  
_Show time lover: oooh_

  
_Tae <3: it was nice being friends, ha sungwoon, but I feel like this is a good moment for us to part_

  
_Show time lover: nooo, aren’t I your flower boy?_

  
_Tae <3: that title is only reserved for my most special person aka my best friend, so no, you aren’t_

  
_Show time: pls, I’ll sign your album next time we see each other :))_

  
_Tae <3: goodbye, jimin 2.0_

  
_Show time lover:…_

  
_Show time lover: wow_

  
_Show time lover: never heard that one before_

 

 

Taehyun giggled and put his phone on his night table, when he looked at Sungwoon’s empty bed next to his he didn’t feel sad anymore. He smiled and closed his eyes, he had to be well rested for the next day. He was gonna be appearing on ‘must eat 20’ and didn’t want to look like a literal wreck this time.

 

* * *

 

After that broadcasted he immediately send a text to his best friend

 

  
_Tae <3: did you see the broadcast?_

 

 

No answer for an hour. That was weird, Sungwoon usually answered within 10 minutes, 20 or 30 if he was busy. 

 

 

_Tae <3: hello?_

  
_Tae <3: sungwoon?_

  
_Show time lover: I’m practicing_

  
_Show time lover: don’t bother me for a while_

 

 

Taehyun stared at that last text. That was borderline offensive, right? Maybe he was just stressed, though. He probably shouldn’t let it get to him. It wasn’t as if Sungwoon was obliged to watch the broadcasts either. He sighed dejectedly and bad humoredly took the remote from Sanghyuk, who shrieked loudly when Taehyun switched the channel.

That did help of his foul mood a bit he thought with a small grin as he took off with Sanghyuk hot on his heels.

 

* * *

 

 

_Tae <3: are you free now?_

God, he missed Sungwoon and it hadn't even been a day.

 

 

_Tae <3: you're not really mad about me saying we aren't best friends anymore, right?_

  
_Tae <3: bc it was a joke..._

  
_Tae <3: you're still my flower boy_

 

Taehyun hid his red face in his hands and waited.

 

 

_Tae <3: you've been practicing for an awfully long time now, haven't you?_

 

Fucking Sungwoon. how dare he treat him like this after everything Taehyun had done for him? After everything he'd offered up. He was such an asshole. He didn’t need a friend like that.

 

 

 

_Tae <3: please answer_

 

It had been five days and still no word from Sungwoon, and no matter how much he'd like to ignore Sungwoon back Taehyun couldn’t. Not yet, at least. He had to call him, to just ask him what was wrong. So on the night of the fifth day he put his pride aside and called the younger man.

 

He answered rather quickly. As soon as he did Taehyun started speaking.

 

"Look, I don't know what's up with you, but you're being really selfish, you know that? I've missed you for weeks and now we're finally able to talk again and you just ignore me for what? Five days?!", he willed himself to calm down a little before continuing. It was silent on the other side of the line. "Look. i'm really sorry if I've made you angry. I don’t know what I've done, but I'm sorry. I won't do it again...so, please, will you just talk to me again? Huh?"

 

The silence on the other end continued.

"Sungwoonie?", he asked thickly. The person on the other side cleared his throat and wow, was Sungwoon sick, his voice sounded pretty low. Maybe that was why-

 

"Yeah, sorry, Taehyun-hyung. It's Daniel here", Taehyun pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in horror. He'd been doing his entire speech to Kang Daniel. Superstar Kang Daniel. Fuck the universe. Fuck everyone, especially Sungwoon. He put the phone back against his ear. "-to mend into your private affairs. I just didn't know how to interrupt you."

Daniel sounded about as uncomfortable as Taehyun felt.

 

"No. Don’t worry about it! I should've realized something was wrong when you didn't say anything", he barked out a laugh completely different from his own. It sounded like a pained hyena, he winced at himself. "Well, I have to go. It was really nice to hear you again, Daniel."

 

"Wait! Sungwoonie-hyung just entered. Should I hand you over-?

 

"No!", he shrieked quickly. He'd never been this embarrassed before in his life. Not even when they’d shown all those trainees the clip of him crying. And until now he'd thought that to be the highlight of all his embarrasing moments. 

 

"A...are you sure. It seems like you two really need to talk", Daniel said, sounding pretty worried and wow, his leadership skills couldn't have picked a worse time to appear. Taehyun sighed.

 

"Just...tell him to call me another time.", he said quietly.

 

"Taehyunie-hyung-"

 

"Goodbye, Daniel. Good luck on your debut. Hyung thinks of you all", he said before finishing the call

 

He spend the next thirty minutes with his face pressed into his pillow, wallowing in self-pity.

 

* * *

 

 

Wanna one debuted a couple of days later. Energetic was amazing, obviously. Just as Taehyun had exected.

The only downside was that he felt an ache in his heart each time Sungwoon appeared on the screen.

 

 

Apparently mnet thought it would be fun to surprise the wanna one members with a visit from some of the produce 101 trainees backstage after their first appearance, and it wasn't as if Taehyun could say no. He and Sungwoon had always been best friends, it would be weird as hell if he didn't show up now. Thankfully Kenta would be going as well. He immediately clung to the Japanese boy as soon as he arrived. Hyunbin, Sewoon, Woojin and Seonho were there as well. There were cameras on them and when they asked him if he was looking forward to seeing Sungwoon again after so long he quickly put on a fake smile.

 

"Obviously! We've never been apart for so long, so I'm happy to be seeing him again;"

 

When he'd answered some more questions and the cameras moved on Kenta abruptly dragged him to the dressing room, where there were no cameras (or at least Taehyun didn't hope so).

 

"Okay, what's up with you?", Kenta asked when Taehyun gave him a strange look. It wasn't everyday he got dragged away to a secluded place by someone.

 

"With me? Whatever makes you say that?", Taehyun feigned ignorance. Kenta gave him an incredulous look.

 

"Maybe the fact that you used to give 20 minutes speeches about how much you wanted to see Sungwoon before", he said and Taehyun blushed.

 

"I did not", he muttered unconvincingly.

 

"Is everything okay between you two?", Kenta asked worriedly and Taehyun shrugged.

 

"Define 'okay'", he said tiredly. "Because if it means that a person literally ignores another person for a week and will not tell said person why he's doing it, then yeah. We're just peachy."

 

"Damn", Kenta said and Taehyun almost laughed at the word coming out of Kenta's mouth. "And you really don't know why he's being like this?"

"No, I don't. I don't think I've said anything wrong about him. I mean, can you think of anything I've said?", he asked, lowkey desperate. He's been whacking his brain and rewatching the episodes he'd been on , just to find what it was that he'd said that was so wrong.

 

"No, I...I mean, I don't think so", Kenta said after a while. "You did call me an incompetent Japanese man, thanks for that."

 

Taehyung laughed despite himself, booming and genuine. Kenta lost it after about 3 seconds, throwing himself against Taehyun in his laughing fit.

 

"Well, be honest. Your japanese sucks", Taehyun giggled finally.

"My japanese sucks", Kenta nodded with a big grin. It was that exact that a member of the film crew decided to enter.

"Guys, it's time. They're about to get off stage", he told them urgently. 

 

The smile froze on Taehyun's face but he quickly followed. As they were walking nervousness like he never felt before was running through him, which was fucking stupid because it was about Sungwoon. The guy he'd spend almost three years of his life with.

 

 

When wanna one got off stage they all seemed to temporarily freeze, it was almost funny. Taehyun discreetly avoided looking at Sungwoon, afraid of what expression he'd see. He doubted it would be a happy on.

 

The Jisung was the first to move, engulfing Hyunbin in a warm hug. Guanlin hugged Seonho, with Minhyun hot on his heels and Taehyun hugged a smiling Daniel and Woojin. He was just about to steal Jisung from Kenta when someone spoke up.

 

“Taehyun-ah.”

 

Taehyun stiffened and looked at Sungwoon for the first time in four months. Really looked at him. The first thing he noticed was the guilt in his eyes. Shit, he thought as his eyes filled with fresh tears. There were cameras on them and this really wasn’t going to help his reputation. Sungwoon hesitantly opened his arms, as if he thought Taehyun wouldn’t hug him.

Yeah right, Sungwoon could probably avoid Taehyun for months and Taehyun would still hug him back.

 

Taehyun immediately grabbed Sungwoon and pulled him forward. He hid his face in Sungwoon shoulder and tried not to sob. His felt his best friend do the same. That was a good thing about being the same, not tall, height he guessed. Sungwoon’s familiar smell filled his nostrils and damn it, was it even possible to miss someone’s scent?

“You’re such a dick”, he sniffled softly and Sungwoon simply hugged him a little tighter.

When they finally separated they answered some answers the MC asked them before the camera moved on. Taehyun pressed his hands against his eyes for a moment and groaned. He should really stop crying.

“You’re such a crybaby”, Sungwoon said with a small smile when the smaller man removed his hands.

 

“Shut up, this is all your fault”, Taehyun retaliated and Sungwoon’s smile dropped.

“Maybe we should talk?”, he asked. Taehyun nodded and after checking if the cameras were on them (they weren’t, instead they were filming Seongwoo, who was making a show of himself holding Daniel close, as if it was them that hadn’t seen in each other in months) and took Sungwoon to the same dressing room Kenta had taking him to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think everyone knows where the nickname 'flower boy' comes from and I feel like everyone should know. It's from [this ep ](https://youtu.be/obSz_O-xaIk?t=179) of 'hotshot's hello korea (at around the 3 minute mark). When I first saw it I almost screamed, so yeah :) The show is just 2 eps, so if you've got some time..
> 
> I am honestly so mad at myself for not getting into hotshot earlier. Wth was I thinking
> 
> But anyway, I hope everyone is still enjoying it! There will probably be 1 or 2 more chapters, bc I know I'll ruin this fic if I try to make it more than that lmao


	3. Chapter 3

“So? What did I do?”, Taehyun asked, who’d stopped crying (thank _fuck_ ) but was suddenly nervous again. Sungwoon also looked pretty uncomfortable as he sat down on one of the many chairs.

“I…Well…It’s…It’s just-“, Sungwoon stuttered, playing with the sleeve of his oversized sweater. Sungwoon always had been one of the best to pull off a cute concept. He was small and had eyes that crinkled up adorably when he smiled. But that was beside the point, Taehyun reminded himself sternly.

 

“Right, thanks for your sophisticated explanation, Sungwoonie. I totally get it now”, he joked and Sungwoon instinctively laughed, the tense atmosphere between them reduced a bit.

“Man, I’d already forgotten how you always manage to make me laugh”, his best friend grinned.

 

“How dare you forget my amazing sense of humor”, Taehyun said and he softly hit Sungwoon’s arm, which he grabbed with a gasp and a pained expression. Taehyun couldn’t help but laugh again, but he quickly sobered up. They probably didn’t have much time before people started missing them and he really wanted to know what it was that he had done so wrong.

 

“But seriously, Sungwoon. What happened?”, he asked.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were bi?”, Sungwoon asked abruptly and Taehyun stared at him for a good ten seconds, slowly taking in what he had said. Why hadn’t he told Sungwoon he was bi?

“I mean, I don’t know.”, he said, leaning back against the wall and looking at Sungwoon, whose ears had gotten very red. A sign that he was embarrassed. Taehyun often liked to point it out whenever it happened. “You never asked.”

 

“How am I supposed to ask something like that?”, Sungwoon asked loudly, before quickly quieting down when Taehyun shushed him. “Aren’t those kind of topics supposed to just come up naturally? Especially between best friends?”

 

“I mean, I don’t know? But is that what this was all about? Me being bisexual? Did you not want to talk to me anymore because of that?”, he asked disbelievingly. He’d never imagined in his wildest dreams Sungwoon being that conservative. What if he was, though? Was he disgusted with Taehyun?

 

“What? No! No, of course not.”, Sungwoon quickly reassured him. “You know me better than that, Taehyun.”

“Then why did you ignore me for that long?”, he demanded and Sungwoon bit his lip as he started picking on a loose thread.

 

“I was just hurt, okay? We’ve known each other for years and you didn’t tell me about your sexuality once and then you go on some random variety show and suddenly tell the entire world. I just didn’t understand”, Sungwoon said finally, slowly, as if carefully calculating each word.

“I get that, but I never explicitly stated I was bi, you know. I just said I thought Daehwi was attractive and that I stopped doting on him at one point because of it”, Taehyun said quietly. Sungwoon finally looked up at him.

 

“The fact that you stopped doting on him because you were afraid of falling in love with him is pretty self-explanatory, Tae. ”

 

The atmosphere between them was unfamiliar. The way Sungwoon was looking at him was unfamiliar. Taehyun swallowed nervously.

 

“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were jealous, flower boy”, he said eventually, attempting to get rid of the atmosphere. Sungwoon didn’t laugh, instead he stood up and slowly walked over to where Taehyun was standing.

“What would you do if I was?”, Sungwoon asked as he leaned against the same wall, facing Taehyun. His heart was literally about to explode.

  
What the fuck was going on right now?  
Was Sungwoon flirting with him? There was no way. They were friends, they were best friends. Best friends didn’t genuinely flirt with each other.

 

True, they always made jokes, but they never really meant it.  
He nervously licked his lips, Sungwoon’s eyes flickered down.

 

What the fuck. What the _fuck_.

 

“Taehyun-“, Sungwoon started quietly and wow, Taehyun really wasn’t cut out for whatever was going on right now. He was about to voice that thought when Sungwoon moved forward. It was right on the moment that Taehyun realized that he was going for the lips that the door swung open. They both jumped away from each other.

 

It was Woojin, the poor boy was looking in between them with big eyes. Taehyun put a hand on the wall and tried to appear cool, even though he felt like he was literally about to die. He snuck a glance at Sungwoon. His ears were redder than he’d ever seen them.

 

“Woojin, hey! Up’s what-I mean, what’s up, Woojin! Hey”, Sungwoon nearly yelled, sounding borderline hysterical. Subtlety had never been his forte.

 

“Uh, they told me to come get you. We’re supposed to all go eat together”, Woojin mumbled.

 

“Okay, let’s. Hunger…is a feeling I’m feeling, yes."

Then again, subtlety had never really been Taehyun's forte either. Woojin nodded and sped away, which left him and Sungwoon.

 

“Do you-“, Taehyun started, attempting to catch Sungwoon’s gaze. The younger man quickly shook his head and made to walk away. They’d gotten this far, though. He sped after his friend and grabbed his arm. Sungwoon flinched and looked up at him, uncertainty written all over his face.

 

“Do you like me? As more than a friend, I mean?”, Taehyun asked urgently. Sungwoon’s ears got even more red, if that was even possible and Taehyun guessed he’d already gotten his answer.

“What would you do if I did?”, Sungwoon asked quietly, dark eyes piercing into his own.

“I’d certainly think about it”, he said breathlessly.

 

“Then please do, Tae, because I don’t want to have to wait too long”, his best friend said quietly, before getting out of his grip and leaving the room.

 

* * *

 

Sungwoon liked him. In a romantic way. The thought made his head swim. Until today he'd never imagined it to ever happen. Never, not in his wildest dreams. Which was why he'd never allowed himself to think about what it'd be like to kiss Sungwoon, to be in love with Sungwoon.

 

Now that he did allow himself to think about it he realized that the thought of him kissing Sungwoon wasn't at all a bad one. In fact, he'd always wondered kind of wondered how those plump lips would feel against his own (very discreetly, just before he went to sleep). Sungwoon was attractive and sweet, fake flirting was nice to do with him, so he imagined that really flirting would be even nicer.  
He was also good at making Taehyun's heart race-.

 

Taehyun caught up to his own thoughts. Sungwoon really was good at making his heart race, even before he'd gotten into hotshot, before produce 101.

 

Sometimes he'd say or do something that made Taehyun feel as though he'd just ran a mile, as though his heart was about to burst. Especially that damn smile of his, the one that made his eyes nearly disappear.

That usually didn't happen between best friends...

Suddenly it all fell into place, the fact that it was so easy to imagine him and Sungwoon together, it was because he was already in love with Sungwoon. He was already head over heels for him, had been for a long time. For some reason it didn't exactly come as a surprise. He guessed a part of him had always known, but had tried to downplay it, because Sungwoon was his best friend. That must've made him feel like this.

 

It was 2 am, but he had to tell Sungwoon.

 

 

_Tae <3: i like you too_

 

 

It was read immediately, as if Sungwoon had been waiting with his phone in his hand the entire time, which Taehyun wouldn't even put beneath him. He anxiously waited for a reply, which came about three minutes later.

 

 

_Show time lover: wait_

 

 

Taehyun guessed he would just type a long ass paragraph about his feelings and grinned, putting his phone on his night stand, figuring that might take a while. He must've fallen asleep waiting, because he was loudly awakened by his ringtone. He blinked rapidly and grabbed his phone. It was 2:30 now. He answered and was just about to apologize for falling asleep and missing his message when Sungwoon panted:  
"Open the door."

 

For a second Taehyun was beyond confused. Open the door? For what purpose? It was the middle of the night, it wasn’t as if there was gonna be anything outside if their dorm by this hour, but then realization dawned on him.

 

"No fucking way", he whispered into his phone as he got out of bed. He quietly sneaked to the front door, careful not to wake anyone and opened it. Outside he found a grinning Ha Sungwoon, looking like he was the shit.

 

"Surprise", he announced and Taehyun couldn't even laugh at this. This was beyond anything Sungwoon had ever done.

 

"Did you literally sneak out of your dorm to come here", he hissed and Sungwoon nodded brightly.

 

"Are you completely out of your mind? What if someone saw? What if you get in trouble?", Taehyun demanded, pulling Sungwoon inside regardless.

 

"I won't get in trouble", Sungwoon reassured him.

 

"You'd better not, I'll never forgive you if you get kicked out of the group", he warned halfheartedly as he followed Sungwoon to his own room.

 

"Man, it's been so long", Sungwoon said quietly as he went to sit down on his own, empty bed.

 

"Too long", Taehyun couldn’t' help but agree. "I've missed you sleeping next to me."

 

"Same", his best friend said, looking around the room with big eyes, as if searching for something that had changed, obviously nothing had. It was just the same, plain room as it always had ben, just with one less bedding.

 

"I even miss your snoring, Jinyoung and Daehwi are really quiet", he teased and Taehyun softly hit him on the arm, which Sungwoon grabbed with that same old pained expression. Taehyun giggled, it never got old.

 

"You're a dick", he said affectionately.

 

"Your dick", Sungwoon retaliated, before flushing and shaking his head. "No, wait. That sounded wrong. That sounded really wrong. I meant- Well, you know what I meant. Stop laughing, Taehyun! I wanted to really make this romantic."

 

Taehyun was trying not to laugh, but each time his eyes fell on Sungwoon’s red ears he couldn't help but burst into a new fit of laughter.

"Ugh, I can’t believe this. I sneak out of my dorm to visit you, risking my livelihood", Sungwoon started dramatically "and all you do is laugh at me. What a good boyfriend you are."

 

"Aww, you just called us boyfriends", Taehyun cooed and Sungwoon's expression fell, as he threw himself onto the bed, groaning into the mattress.

 

"No, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen", he moaned and Taehyun couldn’t help but pity him. He sat down next to Sungwoon and pulled him up from his dramatic pose on the bed. He stubbornly kept his hands in front of his face.

 

"I think it's really sweet that you came", Taehyun said, gently prying his hands away. He kept them in his. Despite the fact that Taehyun had always been a little smaller than Sungwoon, his hands had always been bigger.

 

He looked at Sungwoon's dare he say, dainty, hands in his own and smiled.

 

"Seriously Sungwoonie, no one's ever done something like that for me before. Thank you", he said sincerely.

 

Sungwoon finally looked at him, his dark eyes observing him nervously. It was good to see him out of his element for once, usually it was Taehyun. But with his feelings sorted out, it was as if Taehyun had gotten a confidence boost

 

"You said you liked me too, right?", he asked and when Taehyun nodded he swallowed. "Can you prove it to me?"

 

Sungwoon's tongue flickered out to lick his dry lips and this time Taehyun was the one looking down. He always had wondered how those plump lips would feel against his own. He was leaning forward before he knew it, capturing his friend's mouth with his own.

 

Sungwoon sighed against his lips, obviously content and Taehyun grinned as they both felt the tension that had been between them for god knows how many years finally disappear.

 

* * *

 

 

"What the hell are you doing here?"

 

Taehyun groaned and opened his eyes, looking up at a frowning Junhyuk. He was about to answer something like: " _I live here, what the hell are you doing here? In my room?_ " when he became aware of a heavy weight on his arm. He turned his head and found himself staring at Sungwoon, who was laying on said arm.

 

His best friend, or boyfriend if memory served him correctly, frowned a bit and opened his eyes. The moment they found Taehyun's a soft smile appeared of his lips, making his eyes scrunch up.

 

"Good morning, Sungwoonie", Taehyun grinned and Jungyuk groaned at the two of them.

 

"Why are you two still like this? I repeat my question: why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with your new group? In another dorm?"

 

Sungwoon’s eyes widened and Taehyun stiffened. They both got up in a record speed.

"What time is it?", Sungwoon screeched. Taehyun flinched a little at his loudness. 

 

"Half past seven", Junhyuk said, tension lacing his voice. "Why? You're allowed to be here, right? Sungwoon. Please, tell me you’re allowed to be here."

 

"Fuck, okay. I'm sorry, Taehyunie, I really have to go...", Sungwoon said, as he lingered in the room. Taehyun pushed him out and towards the door.

 

"Don't be sorry. Leave. I really don't want you getting into trouble."

 

"Aww, are you worried about me? That's so romantic, Tae", Sungwoon said as he put on his shoes. 

 

"Well, I am your boyfriend, aren't I?", Taehyun said matter of factly and the slightest tinge of red appearing on Sungwoon’s ears stopped him from cringing at himself.

 

"Be safe, flower boy", he said before hugging Sungwoon and receiving a slight peck on the lips before Sungwoon sped out of the dorm to go to his own.

 

"Wait, what just happened? Did I just imagine it or did Sungwoon just kiss you?", Junhyuk’s voice interrupted his bliss.

 

"You probably just imagined it", Taehyun chirped as he went to the kitchen to go make them some breakfast. And though he was sure it would be hard he was sure he and Sungwoon would manage. They always had. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really love to make this longer and I might even add another chapter, but stopping here is probably the smartest thing for me to do, bc trust me when I say that I sUCk at making long fics.  
> (also i have no idea how far their dorms are from each other so let's just assume sungwoon was able to get there in half an hour okay? okay)
> 
> But anyway, the response I've gotten was really nice and that's why I hope you all enjoyed it!!

**Author's Note:**

> These two literally gave me life, so enjoy this very self-indulgent fic! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am a sucker for the 'best friends to lovers' trope.
> 
> Please do let me know what you thought of it!
> 
> Also, I made a [wanna one sideblog](http://sungwoonstae.tumblr.com)! , so you can come chat with me if you want ^^


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